Tyrannosaurid and Ceratopsian Fossils Heading for Auction

Two fossils found in association with each other in sediments from the famous Hell Creek Formation of Montana seem destined to go up for auction next November.  The debate has once again sprung up between those who support commercial fossil hunters and those who believe that such discoveries should be made as a gift to science.

Dinosaurs Up For Auction

The fossils consist of a tyrannosaurid, billed in the press releases sent out regarding the proposed auction, as an example of a Nanotyrannus lancensis and a horned dinosaur, a member of the chasmosaurine clade of ceratopsians and possibly a new species.  The two specimens have been referred to as “Montana’s Duelling Dinosaurs”.  It has been suggested that these specimens represent a fight between a meat-eating and a plant-eating dinosaur.  Although, team members at Everything Dinosaur have only a limited knowledge of what material has been excavated so far, it is likely that the “duelling dinosaurs” hypothesis has been put forward as the specimens were found in close proximity and after an examination of some of the pathology identified on the fossil bones.

“Duelling Dinosaurs” Go Up for Sale

Dinosaurs up for auction

Picture credit: Bonhams

Duelling Dinosaurs

Very rarely has the fossil record preserved anything as dramatic as a fight between two vertebrate antagonists, in this case, an example of inter-specific interaction.  It is difficult to comment further as to the validity of these claims as with an auction looming, such statements might be aimed at “whetting the appetites of potential buyers rather than accurately reflecting evidence from a preliminary study” as a spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented.

The very fact that a Nanotyrannus specimen might be available for sale is fascinating.  If it ends up in the hands of a private collector and as a result, it remains unavailable for study, this will disappoint a great many palaeontologists as well as their museum directors.  Nanotyrannus might be a dwarf version of Tyrannosaurus rex, however, it could also represent juvenile specimens of T. rex itself.  Skull material discovered in the 1940s and originally described as a Gorgosaurus was re-examined in the 1980s and it was suggested that the specimen represented an adult animal, an example of a new species of pygmy tyrannosaur.  The Nanotyrannus genus was erected, its validity or otherwise has been debated ever since.

Nanotyrannus

A detailed study of the Montana tyrannosaur material may help to resolve this debate.  Many palaeontologists fear that if the specimen is sold at auction to a wealthy individual, then the chance to study the fossils may be lost.  According to other sources tyrannosaurid teeth are embedded in the ceratopsians bones and there may also be skin impressions preserved.  It has also been reported that the tyrannosaurid may be considerably larger than other specimens of the nomen dubium N. lancensis, with well informed American palaeontologists suggesting that the individual tyrannosaur may be about the size of another member of the tyrannosaur family – Albertosaurus.

A Replica of Nanotyrannus

The PNSO Nanotyrannus dinosaur model.

The picture (above) shows the PNSO Nanotyrannus figure.

To view the range of PNSO prehistoric animal models and figures in stock at Everything Dinosaur: PNSO Dinosaur Models and Figures.

Duelling Dinosaurs

The two near complete skeletons were found by commercial fossil hunters on private land.  In the United States, fossils found on privately owned land are the property of the land owners, no matter what the significance to science.  In this case, the owners of the fossils in collaboration with the prospectors can put these rare objects up for sale to the highest bidder.  It has been estimated that the two specimens sold together as a single auction lot could fetch as much as £5.8 million (GBP).

The sale is going to managed by Bonhams auction house in New York.  The “city that never sleeps” may turn out to be an ill omen for the sellers, as in May 2012, the sale of another tyrannosaurid, this time a Tarbosaurus was stopped after it was alleged the fossil material had been illegally removed from Mongolia.   The Tarbosaurus fossils were returned to Mongolia and a fossil dealer from Florida will be sentenced next month over his involvement in the importing of the Late Cretaceous fossils into the United States.

To read more about the Tarbosaurus auction: U.S. Officials Seize Tarbosaurus Skeleton.

To read more about the legal action that followed: Tarbosaurus Case – Florida Man Pleads Guilty.

Senior scientific advisor at the Dinosaur Discovery Museum and director of the Carthage Institute of Palaeontology (Wisconsin), Thomas Carr commented:

“This lines their pockets [commercial fossil hunters and the owners of private land] but hurts science.”

Fossils To Be Sold At Auction

Approaches to museums and other educational bodies have already been made, but it seems that none are willing or able to pay the asking price, so the next step is for the fossils to be sold at auction.  Many fossil specimens, even mounted exhibits of dinosaurs are sold each year, but the sale of these two items for what might turn out to be a record amount is likely to attract a lot of media interest.

However, not everything sells at an auction, in 2008 a Triceratops skeleton went under the hammer but it failed to sell on the day of the auction.

To read more about the Triceratops sale: Triceratops Specimen for Auction.

If a wealthy individual purchases the auction lot, then all may not be lost.  Many adopt a philanthropic attitude to their acquisitions and make them available for further study, thus helping palaeontologists to learn more about long extinct prehistoric animals.  Unfortunately, there is no guarantee and many purchasers prefer to remain anonymous.  However, we, at Everything Dinosaur urge those responsible for the sale and indeed any prospective buyers to permit the specimens to be part of a formal study programme.  In this way, these specimens are not lost to science for good.

With the very high prices paid for fossils, especially dinosaur fossils, an entire industry has sprung up catering for the demand.  Whilst many of the organisations involved are highly professional and ethical, there are less honest fossil hunters out there, poaching, thefts and smuggling of fossil material is big business.  How big?  Nobody actually knows.

Let us hope that the sentencing of the Florida fossil dealer convicted of making false statements on customs forms when importing the Tarbosaurus material will help deter unscrupulous commercial fossil hunters.  However, given the huge rewards available and the lack of international efforts to curb the trade we think that these practices will continue.

The Benefits Of Commercial Fossil Collectors

There is another side to consider when examining the role of commercial collectors.  Many excavate their discoveries with the utmost care and are extremely professional.  Such companies and individuals have made significant contributions to the science of palaeontology and without their efforts many important specimens would never have been found and many more would not have been preserved, simply left to erode away as they are exposed to the elements.  With the cutbacks on museum funding, the number of field expeditions that museums can undertake has been reduced and commercial companies have successfully “plugged the gap” helping to preserve a large number of specimens that otherwise would have been lost to science.

Peter Larson, one of the world’s most distinguished commercial fossil hunters and an authority on tyrannosaurs has stated that the bones are well-preserved and articulated, with some fossilised skin impressions present.  He has suggested that teeth from a predatory dinosaur are embedded in the cervical vertebrae (neck bones), whilst the tyrannosaurs chest and skull bones show evidence of being crushed, perhaps from a kick from the massive ceratopsian.

Peter and his company, the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research based in South Dakota, have been involved in the project to excavate and prepare the fossil material since 2011.  Peter went onto add:

“The fossils provide potential evidence for two new kinds of dinosaurs.  They could settle long-running scientific debates over whether the pygmy tyrannosaur existed as a separate genus or was simply a juvenile T. rex, and whether it hunted as well as scavenged.”

We at Everything Dinosaur, hope that if the fossils are put up for sale at auction, then the buyer will be generous and permit the specimens to be studied by the scientific community.   Such a gesture would no doubt provide lots of positive PR and perhaps establish a blueprint for other lots that may go to auction to replicate.

Fossil Tooth Provides Evidence of an Australian Freshwater Pliosaur

When amateur palaeontologist Mike Cleeland found a fossilised tooth whilst exploring an area close to San Remo for dinosaur bones, he did not think at the time that his fossil find would lead to new insights into the lifestyles and habits of sea monsters.

Freshwater Pliosaur

Thanks to a joint investigation by scientists from Museum Victoria, Monash University (Australia) and Oxford University (England), palaeontologists have evidence of a giant, freshwater pliosaur.  The discovery suggests that both short-necked and long-necked plesiosaurs lived in freshwater for at least some parts of their lives.  Perhaps, like some species of extant cetaceans such as the river dolphins of the Amazon Basin and the Ganges in India, these reptiles lived their entire lives in freshwater and they had adapted to a life in rivers and estuaries.

The tooth measures approximately 45 millimetres in length and it was found in 1994, in an area around fifty miles from the centre of Melbourne (Victoria).  The strata in which the fossil was found represents a 100-million-year-old river system. During the Cretaceous, this part of Australia was a low-lying plain which was crossed by many meandering, large rivers.

Not a Crocodile Tooth

At first the tooth was thought to belong to a particularly big crocodile, as fossils of Cretaceous crocodilians had been found in the area in the past, but the tooth was not intensively studied until a couple of years ago when Dr Erich Fitzgerald (Senior Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology a Museum Victoria), decided to take a closer look at the specimen.

Under the microscope, a series of ridges in the preserved enamel could be seen.   The ridges, essentially a series of fine lines, are spaced apart from each other and stop short of the crown apex (the top of the tooth).  This ridge pattern differs from that seen on smaller teeth found in the same locality.  The smaller teeth measure between 10 and 20 millimetres in size and possess ridges that are closer together and continue closer to the apex of the crown (the tip of the tooth).

Dr Fitzgerald suspected that Mike Cleeland’s fossil tooth could be that of a freshwater pliosaur, but he consulted Dr Roger Benson (Oxford University), who was in Melbourne at the time studying dinosaur fossils that had been discovered in the area. Dr Benson had studied a number of pliosaur fossils that had been found in England and he was able to confirm Dr Fitzgerald’s initial view that this large tooth was indeed that of a pliosaur.

The Thumb-sized Tooth of the Freshwater Pliosaur

Evidence of a freshwater reptile predator.

Picture credit: Museum Victoria

Establishing the Evidence

Thus began the long, painstaking process to establish a body of evidence to suggest that this was a freshwater pliosaur tooth.  The matrix from which the tooth was extracted was examined, other fossils found in the location were studied and an examination of the palaeo-environment undertaken.  The research team have concluded that the tooth was from a five-metre-long pliosaur, a predator that used to live in the waterways that once criss-crossed this part of Australia.

Scientists had found evidence of a smaller, plesiosaur, a long-necked plesiosaur living in the same ancient river system. This is the first evidence of a large pliosaur sharing rivers with another member of the Plesiosauria.

An Illustration showing Types of Plesiosaur in a Freshwater Environment

Marine reptiles, now a contradiction!

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur/M. Witton/Lyme Regis

Marine Reptiles – A Contradiction

The picture above is a composite made by Everything Dinosaur team members based on an image of a Pliosaur produced by renowned artist Mark Witton and the image of a plesiosaur from Lyme Regis museum.  The picture shows a scene in the freshwater environment of Cretaceous Australia where plesiosaurs and pliosaurs shared the same eco-system.

Commenting upon the differences between short-necked plesiosaurs and long-necked plesiosaurs, Dr Fitzgerald stated:

“The Plesiosauria include all those sea-going reptiles from the age of dinosaurs that have these very long snake-like necks and they’ve often been used as a model for the mythological Loch Ness Monster.  The pliosaur is a shorter-necked, much more robust and crocodile-headed relative of those long-necked plesiosaurs.”

The palaeontologist confirmed that the plesiosaur had much smaller teeth which revealed information about the diet of the now extinct species.

“What we can tell from studying the teeth of these river reptiles is that the smaller species was feeding on relatively small prey.  If you have smaller, finer, needle-like teeth, you’re much more likely to be using your teeth as a fishtrap to catch small fish.”

Feeding on Much Larger Animals

However, the much larger teeth of the pliosaur indicate that it was feeding on much larger animals, perhaps bigger types of fish, the plesiosaurs themselves, crocodiles or even small dinosaurs as they came down to the riverbank to get a drink.

A Close up of the Pliosaur Tooth Showing the Fine Ridges

Shown at high magnification and from different angles the fine ridges can be made out.

Picture credit: Museum Victoria/M. Benson

This is the first evidence to suggest that two Plesiosauria lived inland together at the same time, in the same river system. Recently, a team of scientists studying a Late Cretaceous mosasaur fossil found in Hungary have concluded that mosasaurs too, had members of their group that also lived in freshwater.

To read more about the mosasaur research: Freshwater Mosasaur from a Hungarian Bauxite Mine.

It seems that the term marine reptiles, when applied to the Plesiosauria and even the mosasaurs may not be technically accurate anymore.